As part of an overall austerity policy aimed at reducing the country's massive debt, the British government will Slash the budget of OFCOM, the U.K. television regulator by 28 percent. Plans announced on Thursday call for a 20-percent reduction of OFCOM's payroll as 170 of its 870-member workforce are let go. In a message to the staff, OFCOM chief Ed Richards said, "These are difficult times for everyone in the public sector and it is right that OFCOM plays its part meeting the challenge facing the public finances." The government's plan is certain to draw widespread protests -- but it is uncertain whether the same sort of disruption of services encountered on the continent because of similar government austerity programs will erupt in the U.K.